Due to explicit language, sexual content, and dark themes, reader discretion is advised.
When Taylor was four years old, she became an orphan and her childhood spiraled into darkness. She spent years lying, hiding, and avoiding any love offered to her until she was old enough to run away from all the threats of her past.
Now twenty-two, Taylor doesn’t think she’s worth more than being the kind of girl a guy hooks up with in the back room of a bar after her band plays. She definitely isn’t the one you bring home to meet Mom and Dad.
An unlikely rescue puts her in Ethan’s sight. He’s her total opposite, though. Ethan is a sexy dork who sees beyond Taylor’s guarded exterior. He sees past the tattoos and piercings. He sees her.
But they both have secrets capable of destroying their relationship. And if Taylor’s past ever catches up with her, the consequences could be deadly.

My breath caught when he stood behind me to look over my shoulder. We weren’t touching, but my skin broke out in goosebumps and my body ached for contact with his. Heat swirled in my stomach at the thought. How easy would it be to lean back against that awesome chest and have those killer arms hug me? I gripped the table to keep myself from doing anything stupid.
“Beautiful,” he said softly.
“Cool.” I shined the enlarger on the paper and picked up the photo after I turned it off. Ethan was still behind me, and I swallowed as I turned around. Looking at him in this sexy orange lighting was really—
A quiet popping noise invaded our silent room, and the orange light went out, leaving us in darkness. I flinched in surprise, brushing against Ethan. He put his hands on my arms. "The light burned out."
I laughed, trying to distract myself from my tingly arms. "Yeah, Captain Obvious. I can tell."
He laughed softly. "I have another one, I'll go change it. We just have to..." His grip tightened, and he drew me closer to him as he turned me so we switched places. One hand moved off my arm and to my back as his voice dropped. "Trade places. Because it’s on the shelf.”
"Right," I whispered. When he moved us, I dropped the paper, but I really couldn’t have cared less now that his arms were around me. Without thinking, I reached out and held my breath when my fingers brushed against smooth skin. I trailed to the side and found his hair. Moving along the side of his face, I stopped right before his chin and hesitated. Touching him was so ballsey. He might not want me doing this.
When I stopped, he let out a soft groan, and his fingers moved under the hem of my shirt, barely grazing the skin of my lower back. I took a shaky breath and raised my other hand, tracing the planes of his face, the one line across his forehead, the rise and fall of his glasses, the bridge of his nose, and the indent in his chin, so slight it was barely noticeable. His thin top lip. His full bottom one. Over and over again, and his breaths came out deep as his fingers kept moving lightly against my bare skin.
I whimpered as he put his other hand on the side of my face. Fucking whimpered.
“I like this,” he whispered as his fingers followed my eyebrows, over the piercing and down toward my cheek.
I kept tracing his lips as he touched me, all too aware of the strong ache between my legs. “Me too,” I breathed.
My pulse echoed in my head as his hand rested under my chin with his thumb on my lip ring. Neither one of us moved.
I couldn’t fucking handle it anymore. “Ethan?”
“Yes?” his soft voice replied.
“Kiss me already.”

Kelly Lincoln is pretty lame but she’s okay with that. She enjoys reading, inappropriate jokes, all things Disney, and spending time with her family. She lives in the northeast and drinks way too much Diet Coke.
For character bios, playlists, and news about upcoming releases, please visit www.kellylincoln.com. You can also find Kelly when she’s avoiding writing on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKellyLincoln?ref=aymt_homepage_panel or on Twitter @KLincolnWrites.